Blackbird Angels — founded by guitarist Tracii Guns (L.A. Guns) and bassist/vocalist Todd Kerns (Slash, Toque, Heroes and Monsters)–have announced the upcoming release of their debut album, SOLSORTE, on September 8, 2023. The first single and video from the album, “Shut Up (You Know I Love You),” are out today.
“Todd and I have wanted to make a record for about 10 years now and we finally did it and it’s everything I hoped for,” declares Tracii Guns. “With the addition of Adam Hamilton it’s pure magic. For live performances, Johnny Martin will play bass and Sam Bam Koltun will play guitar.”
As Todd Kerns continues ”I’ve always been a great admirer of Tracii’s. When he approached me about this project, we were still in the throes of the pandemic and I really felt this deep need to make as much music as possible while we were all facing such an uncertain future. The record turned out to not only be a cathartic experience, it became some of my favorite music I’ve ever been a part of. It’s raw, it’s real and it rocks. I’m super excited for people to hear it.”
Adam Hamilton, a multi-instrumentalist who spent time in L.A. Guns and has also produced albums by L.A. Guns, Vains Of Jenna, George Lynch, and more, rounds out the line-up on drums. Their self-titled debut album sees some old friends getting together and simply having fun playing some good ‘ol rock ‘n roll like their heroes from the ’70s did.
The seeds of Blackbird Angels were planted when Tracii decided he wanted to write a rock n’ roll record more directly influenced by the music he grew up worshipping as a teenager, i.e. Led Zeppelin, Peter Frampton, Bad Company, late ’70s Journey, and the like. He and Todd Kerns were already friends and Tracii felt Todd’s voice and bass playing would match perfectly with his vision. The two chatted and concluded they could make a killer rock ‘n roll record together. And that’s exactly what they’ve done with the self-titled debut album from Blackbird Angels!
Tracii Guns is a respected guitarist who first came to prominence with the band he founded in Los Angeles in the early ’80s, L.A. Guns. L.A. Guns would go on to be one of the marquee bands of ’80s hard rock and had multiple hit records and singles, including ”The Ballad Of Jayne.” Guns has also had different forays with other groups outside of L.A. Guns, including Brides Of Destruction with Mötley Crüe bassist Nikki Sixx, Contraband with Michael Schenker, and, more recently, Sunbomb with Stryper guitarist/vocalist Michael Sweet. Guns reunited with vocalist Phil Lewis in 2016 under the L.A. Guns name and the band has been releasing new albums, three in total thus far, and touring regularly since.
Todd Kerns is a multi-instrumentalist, singer, songwriter, and producer. He is most noted for being the bass player and backup singer in Slash featuring Myles Kennedy and the Conspirators, and for being the frontman of Gold-record-selling Canadian band The Age Of Electric. In more recent years, he has been making his mark as a singer/songwriter with sold-out solo performances as well as fronting former KISS guitarist Bruce Kulick’s band, as well as his own Canadian supergroup, Toque. And most recently, Todd joined forces with guitarist Stef Burns and drummer Will Hunt in the power trio Heroes And Monsters.